THE PROBLEM: As the saying goes, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Or, as I like to say, you can’t undertake a massive house project (house elevation) without eating a few crap sandwiches. Today’s topic hails from the kitchen. The situation created stems from careless foundation work when our house was lowered (see older posts). An entire bank of cabinets, along … Continue reading Kitchen Renovation – Post House Elevation
A project of this magnitude is going to involve a ride through the school of hard knocks. Things will go wrong. It will take longer than you think, and likely cost more. The good news? Your house will no longer flood! Participating in a house elevation is going to provide an eduction on topics many of you may have never imaged. Below is a sample … Continue reading House Elevation: Foundations and Sill Plates
HAPPY NEW YEAR! As the calendar turns over to reveal the start of a new year, 2014, we are still in the midst of our house elevation for flood mitigation project that began many moons ago. What’s left? Final inspections, certificate of occupancy, landscaping, driveway resurfacing, exterior painting and a few other odds and ends. MOVEMENT AFOOT We moved back into our home just about … Continue reading House Settling Effects Post House Elevation Project
When hiring a local moving company, negotiate the fees upfront. When the crew arrives, go over the agreed upon terms. Tip for great service. Continue reading Tips for Getting the Best Price on a Move
Although the majority of our house hails from the 1920’s, an addition was added in 1990’s by a previous owner – which included a wood burning fireplace. For years the fireplace provided a warm crackling glow to the our family room. Then … it was inundated by a flood or two. During the second flood of 2007 our family room sustained a fair amount of … Continue reading Fireplace Repairs Post Flooding
WEEK 26 Oh me, oh my what a week it’s been preparing to move home again. I can summarize the week’s main emphasis in one little word – cleaning. My goal was to rid the house of the ubiquitous remnants of dry-wall and construction dust. No small task considering that every cupboard on the first floor had to be emptied and throughly cleaned. Hauling out … Continue reading Moving Back In – Post House Elevation
As fate would have it, next door to our temporary apartment, the house is also being lifted. It too suffers from the occasional rising whims of the little brook near our house, about two miles down stream from our house. With my new knowledge base on this subject, I’ve noticed a few things about this elevation that the casual observer would be likely to miss. Style … Continue reading House Elevation: Building the Foundation
GIVING THANKS THIS THANKSGIVING WEEK 25: There are many reasons to be thankful and I appreciate the simple luxuries of life everyday. Things like hot water at the turn of a handle and fresh coffee every morning. I’m ever thankful for my family and friends. But this year has been a bit unique. The things I’m thankful this Thanksgiving are not the sort of things … Continue reading Giving Thanks this Thanksgiving
Before the House Elevation One of the first steps in this house elevation project was to remove the chase of a superfluous chimney. As all of our mechanicals had already been relocated to another area of our house, well above the threat of any flood, this chimney was no longer needed. As such, it had to be removed prior to elevating our house. As the … Continue reading Prepping House for Elevation: Chimney Chase Remodel and Design
There are many positive aspects to lifting your house above the flood plain, mainly that you will no longer have the dreaded anticipation of an impending flood every time it rains. That can not be overstated enough. But once you move back in (yeah!) and not longer flood (whoop whoop) your house will likely have a few new interior issues to deal with. WALL CRACKS … Continue reading Elevated House: Damage Post-Lift Part 2
New Stairs for Elevated House The winds of change have visited our project this week and delivered a blast of good news. With a follow-up to our oh-so-friendly encounter with the neighbor, we have come away victorious. Recall our project was held up for two months while she disputed the few extra inches of variance required for the bottom step, a variance that we already … Continue reading Neighbor Disputes During House Elevation
Exterior railings add an element of flair and fashion to your house, along with safety measures. They may seem like a minor detail, but railings can have a dramatic impact on the visual appeal of your house. Our house project is coming along this week and the staircase is now complete except for the railing. In the picture above you can see the completed staircase, sans … Continue reading Exterior Railings for an Elevated House
Week 22: What happens when a crew of sheet rock workers run amok in your house? Someone’s going to be very unhappy. That someone was me this week. The first day this crew started, they made a huge mess. Dust was everywhere. The kind of dust that can find its way into closed cabinets. I was not happy. I let them know. I asked them what … Continue reading Careless Contractor’s Run Amok
WEEK 21: The mudroom, like this entire project, is S-L-O-W-L-Y taking shape this week. In an earlier post I had discussed the history of flooding in this room as well as tips on choosing tile, so this is mostly a pictorial update. SEPTEMBER The base of our mudroom has been filled with cement. #floodproof OCTOBER The floor was built up and then the concrete was poured. … Continue reading Mudroom Renovation
WEEK 20: Fresh on the heels of last week’s set-back, we’ve made some steady progress this week, albeit not nearly enough for my liking. The majority of the work effort has been restricted to the new front staircase. It’s great to see the transformation, but what I’d really like to see is a beehive of activity on my house. You know, like they show on TV … Continue reading Staircase Transformation on an Elevated House
WEEK 19: Mired in a sea of inept, lazy, self-righteous pin-heads this week, things could be better. Sometimes life is bound to get a little dicey, particularly when undertaking a substantial home renovation. Allow me to elaborate. A VOLCANIC EXPLOSION The week started with a site visit in which our contractor had erroneously poured cement in the wrong place when building up our foundation walls. His … Continue reading Hiccups to a House Elevation Project
FLOOD SAVVY: Fight Flooding - Tips & Inspiration 